Monday, September 27, 2010

877 Valencia Group Show

On Saturday, Seal had her group show opening at 877 Valencia in the Mission. It was relatively a small space, but the traffic was great. Seal got to live paint with James Garcia of Kulayan Arts and Wednesday Kirwan of Gama-Go. She realized what a fun privilege it is to be able to paint in the streets of San Francisco and to have art displayed in public spaces and local businesses. She met strangers and friends who stopped by to observe and ask questions. She loves San Francisco for its love of local artists.

The start of my live-painting, I had in mind a tree in the snow. After 30-40 minutes, James and I decided to switch to see what we could come up with. I like the creativity and unpredictability that comes with collaborative art. The pieces below are currently unfinished. We'll be working on them sometime in the coming weeks and will re-post the final. As friends of Monkey+Seal, you get to see our process and a short glimpse of what's to come.

The start of the collaborative mash-up with James Garcia.

James's piece, in which, I was able to partake in. He did the gorgeous colorful tree on the left (photo doesn't do the details justice). Since I had a brain fart, I added my signature jellyfish and raven on the right. I love working with other artists, since they have different ways of approaching the painting. I especially loved the palette that James was working in. It is also currently an unfinished piece, the final will be re-posted.

Wednesday Kirwan doing a painting of a beautiful girl.

Inside the show. The owner of the space was 17 when he got married to his wife. He and his wife worked hard while going to school and opened up his business in 1979. They have been doing well ever since, and are big supporters of showcasing local artists. It's touching to hear the success-stories of people who have struggled through their adventure cycle and came out on the other side.

When Seal is live-painting, she remembers how fun painting and art is. Sometimes it takes putting your art out in front of people to remember why you paint. To see people's reactions, questions, . . . that your art has somehow impacted them, even if by a little bit, this is what it means to make art. Sure you can make art and keep them in the closet from prying eyes, but ultimately, art is communication with people's thoughts and emotions. In the end, it needs to be seen and appreciated outside of yourself. So take out that half-written novel and unfinished painting, finish them and let them see the light of day.